For the fifth year in a row, Johns Hopkins University is bringing a temporary ice rink to its Homewood campus for six weeks, starting Friday, Jan. 9, and running through Sunday, Feb. 22, weather permitting. The pop-up ice rink will be in the same spot as last year: the parking lot behind the university’s Imagine Center for Integrative Learning and Life Design (the old U. S. Lacrosse headquarters) at 113 W. University Parkway near San Martin Drive. As in past years, the 2026 skating season will include free skating sessions to both university affiliates and the greater Baltimore community. According to the JHU Hub, weekday sessions are reserved for Hopkins affiliates (faculty, staff and students), and weekend time slots are open to Hopkins affiliates and the general public. All sessions last 90 minutes, and they must be booked in advance. Skaters must sign and submit a waiver to be admitted to the ice rink, and minors under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Skates and refreshments will be provided free of charge, but registrants can also bring their own skates. Some of the evening sessions will be theme nights, including Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Harry Potter and Seniors on Ice. Hopkins affiliates can sign up for beginner skating lessons with the JHU Figure Skating Club. Weekend hours of operation for Hopkins affiliates and the general public are Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Weekday hours for Hopkins affiliates are Monday to Thursday from noon to 7:30 p.m., and Fridays from noon to 11:30 p.m. Hopkins is offering extended hours on Opening Weekend, Jan. 9 to 11. Hours on Friday, Jan. 9 will be from noon to 11:30 p.m. for JHU affiliates only, and Saturday, Jan. 10 and Sunday, Jan. 11, from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. both days, for JHU affiliates and the general public. Extended hours on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 19, will be from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., for JHU affiliates and the general public. Online registration is open now, allowing participants to reserve spots up to three weeks in advance. The website for more information and to reserve tickets is: https://www.jhu.edu/johns-hopkins-ice-rink-at-homewood/. ...read more read less